Front floor mounted and seat attached vehicle gun rack

ABSTRACT

A pair of upstanding structures for supporting longitudinally spaced portions of an elongated horizontal member extending transversely in front of the forward edge of a vehicle seat cushion. Each of the cradle structures includes front and rear sides and a pair of upstanding opposite side legs spaced horizontally apart at their lower ends and joined together at their upper ends and is provided with an upper upwardly opening U-shaped cradle element disposed in an upstanding plane generally normal to an upstanding plane containing the lower end portions of the legs of the cradle structure with the cradle element projecting forwardly from the front side of the structure. Also, elongated resilient tension members have one pair of corresponding ends thereof supported from upper portions of the cradle structures and anchor portions on the other pair of ends thereof for anchoring to the forward lower edge of the associated seat cushion when the cradle structures are disposed upright in front of the seat cushion.

ilnited States Patent 1151 3,635,38 1 Hensley 51 Jan. 18, 1972 [541FRONT FLOOR MOUNTED AND SEAT 3,429,541 2/1969 Herman ..248/302 ATTACHEDVEHICLE GUN RACK 3,504,830 4/1970 Trammell ..224/29.4

[72] Inventor: John V. Hensley, Shreveport, La. primary Examiner AlbenMakay [73] Assignee: Jack H. Kaplan, Shreveport, La. a part in-Attorney-Clarence O'Brien and Harvey Jawbson terest ABSTRACT 22 Filed:Aug. 22, 1969 I A pan of upstandmg structures for supportinglongitudlnally [21] Appl. No.2 852,290 spaced portions of an elongatedhorizontal member extending transversely in front of the forward edge ofa vehicle seat 52 us. 01. ..224/1, 224/294, 224/4242 A, Each f s'iucmres'F i mm and 248/302 248/304 sides and a pa1r o upstanding opposite s delegs spaced [51] Int Cl. ..A i7b 81/00 homomally apart at lower ends andJoined together at 58 Field of Search ..224/05, 1, 29.4, 42.42, 42.42 A,f: if f l P a s? 224/4245, 42.45 B, 29; 248/201, 302, 303, 304, Penmgape e e P P n 211/64 plane generally normal to an upstanding planecontarmng the lower end portions of the legs of the cradle structurewith the cradle element projecting forwardly from the front side of the[56] References cued structure. Also, elongated resilient tensionmembers have one UNITED STATES PATENTS pair of corresponding endsthereof supported from upper portions of the cradle structures andanchor portions on the other 1,030,425 6/1912 Owen ..248/304 X pair fends th f f anchoring to the forward |wer edge f 2,271,784 2/1942"248/201 X the associated seat cushion when the cradle structures are2,797,033 6/ l 957 Rasbach "224/1 disposed upright in front of the seatcushion. 3,104,040 9/1963 Stevens ..224/29 3,252,637 5/1966 Hart ..224/15 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures 1 /6 a p /4 x s r2426 PATENTEU JAN18l9723635381 John 1 Hensley 1N VLNTOR.

FRONT FLOOR MOUNTED AND SEAT ATTACHED VEHICLE GUN RACK The gun rack ofthe instant invention has been designed primarily for the purpose ofproviding a means whereby a rifle or shotgun and the like may beconveniently supported in the interior of a passenger vehicle for readyaccess by the driver of the vehicle or another person seated on thefrontseat of the vehicle alongside the driver.

Law enforcement officers sometimes desire to support a shotgun or riflewithin their patrol vehicles or the like for ready access thereto shouldthe needarise. To this end, the gunrack of the instant invention willbe-used primarily in supporting a rifle or shotgun immediately forwardof the front edge of the front seat cushion of a vehicle. Although thegun rack could be .utilized to support arifle or shotgun in horizontalposition immediately forwardly of the rear seat cushion of some patrolvehicle, inasmuch as the rear seat area of some patrol vehicles areoften occupied by persons under arrest, the most desired function of thegun rest or rack will be to support a rifle .-of shotgun immediatelyforwardly of the front seat cushion of a vehicle.

The gun rack supports the associated rifle or shotgun in horizontalposition and for ready disengagement from the rack whereby a persondismounting the front seat area of the vehicle from either side mayreadily grasp the rifle or shotgun supported by the rack for removalfrom the vehicle as the person dismounts from the vehicle.

It is accordingly themain object of this invention to provide a gun rackoperable to support a rifle or shotgun in horizontal position extendingalong and immediately forwardly of the forward edge of a vehiclefrontseat cushion below the top of the cushion and above the floor of.the associatevehicle.

Another object of this invention, in accordance with the immediatelypreceding object, is to provide agunrack which may be readily mounted inand withdrawn from substantially all motor vehicles without the use oftools.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a gun rack whichwill be capable of supporting a rifle or shotgun for ready removal fromthe rack whenever desired.

A further important object of this invention, in accordance withthepreceding objects, is to provide a gun rack whose structuralcomponents enable it to be supported from various types of vehicleswhich might be utilized by law enforcement officers or the like.

A final object of this invention to be specifically .enumerated hereinis to provide a gun rack in accordance with he preceding objects whichwill conform to conventional forms of manufacture, be of simpleconstruction and easy to use so as to provide a device that will beeconomically feasible, long lasting and relatively trouble free inoperation;

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details.of.construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to .the accompanying drawings forming a part .thereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the gun rack illustrated mounted withinthe front passenger compartment of a vehicle and in use supporting ashotgun in horizontal position extending alongthe forward edge of thefront cushion of the vehicle;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view takensubstantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 2 2 of FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the cradle structureswhich are utilized in pairs to form the gun rack of the instantinvention; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a protective covering provided forinstallation over each of the U-shaped cradle elements of the gun rackwhereby longitudinally spaced portions of a rifle or shotgun may besupported from the rack without marringthe rifle or shotgun.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings, the numeral lflgenerally designates a vehicle front seat construction gitudinal hump20.

The gun cradle or rack of the instant invention is referred to ingeneral by reference numeral 22 and includes a pairof guncradlestructures 24 whose structural features may best be seen in FIG..3of the drawings. Eachofthe gun cradlestructures 24 comprises anupstanding frame 26 constructed of .a single piece 28 of rodlikematerial. The frame 26includes a pair of opposite side legs 30 and 32whose lower end portions 34 and.36 are upwardly convergent and curveaway from each other as at 38 and 40 so as to define upwardly convergentupper end portions 40 and 42 which curve upwardly and toward each otheras at 44 and 46 at their upper ends.

The curved portions 44 and 46 terminate inwardly in horizontallydirected arm portions 48' and 50 projecting toward each other and whichterminate at their inner ends in downturned'legs 54 whose lower endscurve forwardly and upwardly as at 56 and 58 and are joined at theirfree ends by means of an integral reversely bent portion 60.Accordingly, it may be seen that the frame 26 is of one-piececonstruction and that the legs 52 and 54 as well as the forwardly andupwardly curving portions 56 and 58 define anupwardly opening'channelwhich generally parallels the plane containingthe legs 30 and 32 of theframe 26.

A U-shaped resilient sleeve 62 is closed as at 64 at one end andis'longitudinally slotted as at 66 at the other end. The resilientsleeve 62 is slipped over at least the lower portions of the legs 52 and54 as well as the forwardly and upwardly curving portions 56 and 58thereof. Also, the closed end 64 of the sleeve 62 encloses the reverselybent portion 60.

From FIG. 1 of the drawings it may be seen that a pair of gun cradlestructures 24 are utilized and positioned'on opposite sides of the hump20 with the lower ends of the legs 30 and 32 resting upon floor 18 onopposite sides of the hump 20. However, in order to maintain the guncradle structures 24in position, a pair of expansion springs 68 areprovided and define elongated tension members. One end of each expansionspring 68 is anchored to a ring 70 slidably disposed overathecorresponding legs 52 and 54 and the other end of each expansion spring68 includes a hook 72 which may be engaged with front lower frameportion 74 of the seat cushion 14. Thus, as may be seen from FIG. 2 ofthe drawings, the expansion springs 68 maintain the gun cradlestructures 24.in position with the rear sides of the frames 26 abuttingthe front face of the forward marginal edge portion of the seat cushion14. Of course, it may be seen that the channels defined by each pair offorwardly and upwardly curving portions 56 and 58 of the legs 52 and 54are aligned and that longitudinally spaced portions of a shotgun 76 arecradled in the channel defining cradle elements comprising the legs 52and 54 and the correspondingforwardly and upwardly curving portions56.and SSthereof. The wooden and metal portions of theshotgun 76 areprotected from contact with the legs 52 and 54 or the reversely bentportion 60 by means of the sleeve 62 and it will be readily observedthat the shotgun 76 may be readily lifted from either side of thevehicle 16 and withdrawn from .the vehicle 16 as a person thereindismounts therefrom. Further, the gun rack represented by the pair ofgun cradle structures 24 may be readily removed from the vehicle 16 andmounted on another vehicle. In addition, the gun cradle structures 24are constructed in a manner whereby they may be readily mounted insubstantially all vehicles and also in the rear seat areas ofsubstantially all vehicles, if such mounting of the gun cradlingstructures 24 is desired. Also,:the hook 72 may be releasable engagedwith any suitable-portion of the seat cushion 14 which will provide asuitable anchor therefor, such as a rear lower frame portion (notshown).

It is proposed that a noncorrosivematerial such as aluminum be utilizedin the construction of the frames 26, although it is to be understoodfurther that any other suitable material such as plastic could beutilized, if desired. Further, the tension members represented by thesprings 68 need not be in the form of expansion springs but it isdesirable that some type of elastomeric tension member be utilized.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will bereadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

What we claim as new is as follows:

1. A gun cradle structure for supporting an elongated horizontal memberforward of the front marginal edge of a vehicle seat cushion with theelongated member extending along said front marginal edge, said cradlestructure including front and rear sides and a pair of upstandingopposite side legs spaced horizontally apart at their lower end portionsand joined together at their upper ends, said cradle structure furtherincluding an upper upward opening U-shaped cradle element disposed in anupstanding plane generally normal to a plane containing the lower endportions of said legs with the cradle element projecting from the frontside ofsaid structure, an elongated tension member having one endanchored to an upper portion of said cradle structure and adapted at itsother end for anchoring to the lower forward marginal edge portion of anassociated vehicle seat cushion, said cradle structure comprising asingle piece of heavy gauge rodlike material whose opposite end portionsdefine said legs, said single piece including portions thereofprojecting inwardly toward each other from the upper ends of said legsand terminating inwardly in downtumed portions adjacent each other whoselower ends curve forwardly and upwardly and terminate in an integralreversely bent portion, the forwardly and upwardly curving portions ofsaid single piece defining said cradle element.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein the lower end portions of saidlegs are upwardly convergent.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein the upper end portions of saidlegs are upwardly divergent.

4. An upstanding structure including opposite side legs joined togetherat their upper ends, said legs being disposed generally in an upstandingplane, said structure including means adjacent its upper end projectingoutwardly of one side of said plane defining an upwardly openinghorizontal channel open at its opposite ends and generally parallelingsaid plane, said structure being free of projections projectingoutwardly of the other side of said plane and adapted to be supported,by it legs, from the floor of a vehicle with the upper portion of saidstructure abutting the front face of a vehicle seat cushion with theseat cushion disposed on the side of said plane remote from saidchannel, and means attached to said structure and adapted to be anchoredto said seat cushion for preventing the upper portion of said structurefrom swinging forwardly away from said seat cushion, said cradlestructure comprising a single piece of heavy gauge rodlike materialwhose opposite end portions define said legs, said single pieceincluding portions thereof projecting inwardly toward each other fromthe upper ends of said legs and terminating inwardly in downturnedportions adjacent each other whose lower ends curve forwardly andupwardly and terminate in an integral reversely bent portion, theforwardly and upwardly curving portions of said single piece definingsaid cradle element, and a resilient sleeve covering disposed over saiddowntumed portions, including their forwardly and upwardly curvingportions.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said sleeve includes a closed endportion in which said backturned portion is received.

1. A gun cradle structure for supporting an elongated horizontal memberforward of the front marginal edge of a vehicle seat cushion with theelongated member extending along said front marginal edge, said cradlestructure including front and rear sides and a pair of upstandingopposite side legs spaced horizontally apart at their lower end portionsand joined together at their upper ends, said cradle structure furtherincluding an upper upward opening U-shaped cradle element disposed in anupstanding plane generally normal to a plane containing the lower endportions of said legs with the cradle element projecting from the frontside of said structure, an elongated tension member having one endanchored to an upper portion of said cradle structure and adapted at itsother end for anchoring to the lower forward marginal edge portion of anassociated vehicle seat cushion, said cradle structure comprising asingle piece of heavy gauge rodlike material whose opposite end portionsdefine said legs, said single piece including portions thereofprojecting inwardly toward each other from the upper ends of said legsand terminating inwardly in downturned portions adjacent each otherwhose lower ends curve forwardly and upwardly anD terminate in anintegral reversely bent portion, the forwardly and upwardly curvingportions of said single piece defining said cradle element.
 2. Thecombination of claim 1 wherein the lower end portions of said legs areupwardly convergent.
 3. The combination of claim 2 wherein the upper endportions of said legs are upwardly divergent.
 4. An upstanding structureincluding opposite side legs joined together at their upper ends, saidlegs being disposed generally in an upstanding plane, said structureincluding means adjacent its upper end projecting outwardly of one sideof said plane defining an upwardly opening horizontal channel open atits opposite ends and generally paralleling said plane, said structurebeing free of projections projecting outwardly of the other side of saidplane and adapted to be supported, by it legs, from the floor of avehicle with the upper portion of said structure abutting the front faceof a vehicle seat cushion with the seat cushion disposed on the side ofsaid plane remote from said channel, and means attached to saidstructure and adapted to be anchored to said seat cushion for preventingthe upper portion of said structure from swinging forwardly away fromsaid seat cushion, said cradle structure comprising a single piece ofheavy gauge rodlike material whose opposite end portions define saidlegs, said single piece including portions thereof projecting inwardlytoward each other from the upper ends of said legs and terminatinginwardly in downturned portions adjacent each other whose lower endscurve forwardly and upwardly and terminate in an integral reversely bentportion, the forwardly and upwardly curving portions of said singlepiece defining said cradle element, and a resilient sleeve coveringdisposed over said downturned portions, including their forwardly andupwardly curving portions.
 5. The combination of claim 4 wherein saidsleeve includes a closed end portion in which said backturned portion isreceived.